Maternal Mortality
Precis:
Nicholos Kristof, in his article in the New York Times, If Americans Love Moms, Why Do We Let Them Die, argues that the United States must do more to prevent maternal deaths, given the surprisingly high maternal death rate in the U.S., particularly in Texas. He brings factual evidence to emphasize the severity of the issue of maternal deaths in the US, shares a sad story of a maternal death in Texas, and then explains the cause of the issue and how deaths can be prevented in the future. Kristof intends to awaken the American public to an issue they may not have been fully aware of, and to inspire them to vote for politicians who will help make maternal deaths more preventable. Considering that the matter being discussed relates to pregnancy and childbirth, the intended audience is adults, particularity those with children, who could relate to the issue and feel the most compassion for women who died during pregnancy.
Response:
I absolutely agree with Kristof's argument. From the startling data surrounding maternal death rates in this country, it is clear that more must be done. Contraceptives must be made available to all women, there must be a sufficient number of women's health clinics across the U.S. to assist women during pregnancy, and health care needs to be available to low-income families. These are actions which the American public should push for, through protest and by simply voting for politicians who will make these things happen. People cannot be silent, and ignore such a serious issue which effects so many Americans. Until reading this article, I was completely oblivious to the issue of maternal deaths in the United States. In fact, I remember hearing once many years ago that they don't really occur much nowadays. Hence, educating the public in this matter is a crucial step in the right direction which will help the cause significantly. This will slowly translate into a deeper investigation into why maternal deaths occur, and a movement that will fight for change.
Unfortunately, as Kristof points out, the current administration is taking us in the wrong direction in the fight to make pregnancy safer. Through the new GOP healthcare plan, millions of Americans are predicted to go uninsured. Additionally, funding to pregnancy prevention programs is being cut by the president, all of which put more women at risk. Kristof's concluding sentence hints to the obvious irony in the "pro-life" attitude which the GOP uses to justify its actions. The party that is supposed to be pro-life, is in favor of taking steps which will raise the risk of maternal deaths significantly. It's very possible that many Republican voters are unaware of this, and Americans on both ends of the political spectrum who are aware must inform those who aren't. In spreading this important information, it is important that people not only spread statistics, but also share stories which will motivate people to change their views and act accordingly.
If President Trump truly wants to "Make America Great Again," he can do so by taking the necessary actions to prevent maternal deaths. An American woman should no longer have a five times higher chance of dying in pregnancy/childbirth as a British woman. U.S. maternal death rates should not be increasing as those rates drop in other advanced countries throughout the world. At a time when the world views us as a fractured and divided country, why can't we show them that we care about life, and that we care about each other? Why can't we be an example to the next generation that we are trying to learn from our mistakes and progress as a nation?
Nicholos Kristof, in his article in the New York Times, If Americans Love Moms, Why Do We Let Them Die, argues that the United States must do more to prevent maternal deaths, given the surprisingly high maternal death rate in the U.S., particularly in Texas. He brings factual evidence to emphasize the severity of the issue of maternal deaths in the US, shares a sad story of a maternal death in Texas, and then explains the cause of the issue and how deaths can be prevented in the future. Kristof intends to awaken the American public to an issue they may not have been fully aware of, and to inspire them to vote for politicians who will help make maternal deaths more preventable. Considering that the matter being discussed relates to pregnancy and childbirth, the intended audience is adults, particularity those with children, who could relate to the issue and feel the most compassion for women who died during pregnancy.
Response:
I absolutely agree with Kristof's argument. From the startling data surrounding maternal death rates in this country, it is clear that more must be done. Contraceptives must be made available to all women, there must be a sufficient number of women's health clinics across the U.S. to assist women during pregnancy, and health care needs to be available to low-income families. These are actions which the American public should push for, through protest and by simply voting for politicians who will make these things happen. People cannot be silent, and ignore such a serious issue which effects so many Americans. Until reading this article, I was completely oblivious to the issue of maternal deaths in the United States. In fact, I remember hearing once many years ago that they don't really occur much nowadays. Hence, educating the public in this matter is a crucial step in the right direction which will help the cause significantly. This will slowly translate into a deeper investigation into why maternal deaths occur, and a movement that will fight for change.
Unfortunately, as Kristof points out, the current administration is taking us in the wrong direction in the fight to make pregnancy safer. Through the new GOP healthcare plan, millions of Americans are predicted to go uninsured. Additionally, funding to pregnancy prevention programs is being cut by the president, all of which put more women at risk. Kristof's concluding sentence hints to the obvious irony in the "pro-life" attitude which the GOP uses to justify its actions. The party that is supposed to be pro-life, is in favor of taking steps which will raise the risk of maternal deaths significantly. It's very possible that many Republican voters are unaware of this, and Americans on both ends of the political spectrum who are aware must inform those who aren't. In spreading this important information, it is important that people not only spread statistics, but also share stories which will motivate people to change their views and act accordingly.
If President Trump truly wants to "Make America Great Again," he can do so by taking the necessary actions to prevent maternal deaths. An American woman should no longer have a five times higher chance of dying in pregnancy/childbirth as a British woman. U.S. maternal death rates should not be increasing as those rates drop in other advanced countries throughout the world. At a time when the world views us as a fractured and divided country, why can't we show them that we care about life, and that we care about each other? Why can't we be an example to the next generation that we are trying to learn from our mistakes and progress as a nation?
For your rhetorical precis: I don't really know how much this will matter, but in the format it says to include the date in parentheses after the title of the work. Also, for your second sentence, did he really say what causes the issue and how to prevent it in the future? I think he gave a few of his ideas on this, but I don't know if I would say that he said the cause and how to prevent it. Your third sentence was really good! For the last sentence, I would include what role the author was taking, (so include that he is trying to educate his audience.)
ReplyDeleteFor your response: I agree with basically everything you said (although I really did not like the way Kristof argued his point.) I especially liked your perspective that we need to educate the public on this matter because honestly, I did not know that this was a problem before reading this article. Therefore, I would take the insurance side aspect into account when voting, but I don't think I realized the full extent of the effect of the changes that the government is making onto healthcare.
Quotation marks for the name of the article.
ReplyDelete